Of Heaven and Hell
by TwiAddictAnne
Summary: "It's just a kiss," he said, and like the moron I am, I believed him. Why did I think that I'd be able to stop after just one kiss? Because I'm an idiot, that's why. Kissing him felt like heaven ... but resisting him? My personal Hell. All Human. Rated for language, mostly.


**Disclaimer:** **Twilight Saga doesn't belong to me—a sad but true fact. This plot and the story, however, is all mine. :)**

 **A/N: This was my donation piece for the Fandom for LLS this year. As the granddaughter of a breast cancer survivor and a formulation scientist working on anticancer drugs, this is always a cause very close to my heart.**

 **A big shout-out with a side of emornous hugs and sloppy kisses goes to my adoptive Granma, DataByteDL-FangirlinGranma Dee for the amazing beta work she has done for this one, and for loving my crazy ass.**

 **This is my first attempt at writing a high schoolWard. So enjoy!**

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 ** _Of Heaven and Hell_**

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Standing in the dark closet, I tried to look anywhere but at the boy standing next to me. It was a very hard thing to do … especially when he smelled so … Edward-y.

 _Is that even a word?_ I wondered for a moment before the gravity of the situation hit me.

I was in a closet, with my best friend's brother, and we were supposed to be doing God knows what for seven minutes.

"This is stupid," I heard him huff from beside me.

I turned my head just a little bit to look at him. As my eyes got used to the darkness inside the closet, I took in the perfection that was Edward Cullen.

 _Wait. What?_ I scowled at myself. _He's Edward ... Rosalie's brother. He's definitely not someone to think of like that, you fool._

After giving myself a talking to, I nodded in response to his previous comment. "We were stupid enough to agree to play."

He sighed sadly. "I was just trying to avoid anything to do with tears. Rose can cry a river just by blinking."

 _Yeah, she's a lucky bitch to have a talent like that,_ I thought.

"You wanna get out of here?" I asked, not understanding the slight pang of disappointment that shot through my heart.

He frowned. "We can't. Or we'll lose."

"Right. Of course," I agreed quickly because I did _not_ want to lose a game where Jessica Stanley was involved. "So what should we do?"

Before he could answer, we heard Jessica's overly nasal voice whine from somewhere near the keyhole of the closet, "I can't hear a thing! Do you think they're kissing in there?"

"God! Jessica, have a built-in loudspeaker in your throat, do you?" came Rosalie's irritated voice. "If you keep whining, we won't hear a sound of what's happening in there."

There was silence for about two seconds before Jessica groaned. "I don't want him to kiss _her_! He's so …" cue the sound of a girly sigh before she continued. "And she's just … urgh!" A thumping sound followed her declaration and then Alice's voice came through the closet door. "Watch it, Stanley! That's our best friend you're bitching about."

I smiled at the way my friends were standing up for me. I was so engrossed in their conversation that I completely missed Edward's throat-clearing at first so when he touched my hand, I gasped … loudly.

"Shhh … she gasped! I bet he's coping a feel while making out with her," Alice sounded positively gleeful at the thought.

I felt heat spreading through my face as I realized that he could hear all of their pervy thoughts just like I could.

"Bella?" The sound of his voice made me look up from where I was busy inspecting the shoelaces of my Converse.

"Yeah?" I breathed as quietly as I could, being mindful of our audience.

He pointed to the door and asked, "Why does that girl sound like she's jealous of you?"

 _Because you're the hottest shit in high school …_ _not to mention a senior,_ I wanted to say. But instead, I stuck to my usual lame responses. "She's always been like that. I don't think she can be anything but jealous of others."

He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes for a moment, and then raised an eyebrow at me. "Well then she deserves a payback, don't you think?"

Eager to give Stanley the proverbial middle finger, I leaned forward. "What are you thinking?"

"She obviously doesn't want us to kiss," he said casually like it wasn't a monumental thing. "So I say we give her exactly that."

"You wanna kiss me?" I squeaked.

 _Yes, I squeaked, people. Come on! Don't judge me before you've seen the hot as hell boy standing before me._

He lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. "If you want to that is."

For a few moments, I stopped breathing and gaped at him, trying to figure out if he was pulling my leg or not.

"We don't have to, if you don't want to …" he started saying after seeing my imitation of a gaping fish.

"You're not kidding?" I asked because I needed to be sure before I made a fool of myself.

He looked at me and shook his head slowly.

My voice shook embarrassingly as I whispered, "Okay."

The sound of his sharp intake of breath resonated louder in the confined space than I'd have expected as he stepped closer to me, filling my line of vision completely. "You can stop me, if you don't want to do this," he whispered as he raised a hand and placed it on my cheek.

"I don't want to," I replied. "… to stop you, I mean … for the sake of teaching Stanley a lesson … it's for societal improvement, you know?"

One side of his lips lifted in a half-smile as he nodded. "I'm all for societal improvement," he said, and for a moment I wondered if he had seen right through my bullshit.

But before I could ask him about that, he moved his hand so that it was gripping the back of my neck and leaned in, bringing his lips impossibly closer to mine. "Relax, Bella," he said softly, his lips barely brushing mine as he spoke. "It's just a kiss."

I wanted to respond with a smartass comeback, but before I could do more than inhale a lung full of air, his lips were on mine, kissing me softly with feather-light touches.

My lips didn't respond to him for a few moments, my brain was busy playing catch up with the fact that he was actually kissing me; but when it did, I pressed my lips firmly to his. He closed his eyes and tightened his hold on me before kissing me again.

After a few moments, I separated our mouths, gasping for breath. That's when he inched his tongue inside my mouth. Suddenly, I felt like I was alive for the first time … all my nerves felt like live wires as I clutched myself to the gorgeous boy in the closet and kissed him.

Again and again our lips met.

Again and again we tested a little bit of heaven in each other … until a beeping sound pierced through the fog that had been surrounding us. The annoying beeping was followed by a few loud bangs on the closet door. "Hey you two, we're gonna open the door so you better be decent," the sound of Rosalie's voice snapped us into motion and we scooted away as far as the cramped space allowed, trying to look inconspicuous.

Slowly, as if from a horror movie, the door swung open and a dozen or so faces popped up, all gawking at us.

I tried to not look like I had just been thoroughly kissed as Edward ran a hand through his hair. Without even glancing at me, he murmured, "I'll see you around, Bella," and then he was gone.

I stood there open-mouthed at the way he had simply brushed off the kiss we shared. I felt a hand tug on my arm and turned to see Alice standing there next to me. "What happened, Bella?"

"Nothing," I answered. "Absolutely nothing."

 _Nothing's right_ , I reminded myself as I followed my friends out of that closet. _Just like he said, it'_ _s just a kiss._

 _I can deal with this._

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 **~*~*~*Of Heaven and Hell*~*~*~**

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"I can't deal with this … not anymore," I confessed, letting my head fall back against my locker instead of getting my books and then making my way to my next class.

Alice's voice sounded understanding as she patted me on the shoulder. "Maybe you should focus on something else?" she advised softly. "It's been weeks, Bella."

Rosalie snorted from my other side. "Weeks? Try months. I never thought that I'd ever see someone so hung up on that cheeky asshole."

I shifted my eyes from her and mumbled, "I'm _not_ hung up on him."

"Right, and you're simply crushing on him," Rose countered. "Seriously though? Edward? Of all the guys in the school, you had to pick my asswipe of a brother?"

"I'm not crushing on him," I replied, but even in my ears my words sounded feeble … hollow. "It's just … I never expected him to start ignoring me, you know?"

My confession made the girls sigh sadly; and on some level, I hated to be on the receiving end of their pitiful looks.

 _I_ _'_ _m going to prove that I'_ _m strong,_ I promised to myself. _If he ignores me,_ _I can ignore him right back._

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 **Two More Weeks Later**

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As I stood in Esme's immaculately decorated kitchen watching the counter on the microwave count down until the popcorn was ready, the sound of approaching footsteps alerted me to my company.

I heard the footsteps stop abruptly as they crossed the threshold of the room, and instantly, I knew it was him.

Unlike the other times we had crossed paths though; he didn't turn around and walk away. Instead, with shuffling steps, he entered the kitchen.

"Hey." I was startled by his sudden decision to break his silence.

 _Ignore hi_ _m, remember?_ I heard my mind try to remind my heart. _He_ _'_ _s just your best friend's brother. Nothing more._

"What's up?"

His brows furrowed and he looked like he was struggling with himself for words as he stood there, looking kind of adorable in his Batman t-shirt.

I waited for him to speak his mind until … "Rose was wondering if you're getting the popcorn."

 _What the hell?_

I chastised myself for even thinking of him as adorable as I tried not to scowl at him. Thankfully, the timer went off, and quickly grabbing the bowl of popcorn, I walked right past him … stopping long enough to say, "I've got it."

As I left him standing alone in the empty kitchen, I finally admitted to myself that ignoring him was hard. _But hey, I'm nothing if not a hardass. I'll ride it out. It's just a silly crush anyway,_ I told myself.

How wrong I was!

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 **~*~*~*Of Heaven and Hell*~*~*~**

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"Hey, Bella, you are coming to the pool party this weekend, aren't you?"

I opened my mouth to decline, but one bitch-brow from Rosalie shut me up, and instead I answered, "I might."

" _Might?_ " she repeated, narrowing her eyes at me. "Might isn't gonna work with me, girlfriend. You need to be there to help me with the decorations and shit."

Raising my eyebrows, I pointed toward Alice. "She's the one who goes Freaky Friday on anything to do with decorations, Rose, not me. And as for helping you with shit, do I really have to go there?"

She looked horrified as she started shaking her head vehemently. "N-no … that's _not_ what I …"

I couldn't hold it in anymore. A snort escaped me and then I was full-blown laughing. Rose scowled at me before saying, "For that, Swan, you're gonna wear whatever I pick out for you."

"Hey, I'll be perfectly fine in my tee …"

She cut short my protests with a shake of her head. "It's a _pool_ party, Bella. You're gonna wear a bikini like everyone else. End of discussion."

 _God! What did I get myself into?_

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 **The Day of the Pool Party**

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"Come out already, Bella. There's nothing we haven't seen before."

I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror and shouted back to Alice, "I beg to differ, Ali. There's a lot _nobody's_ seen before."

A choked cough sounded from the other side of the door … a choked and _heavy_ cough.

"Hey, Edward!"

I closed my eyes as soon as I heard Alice greet Rosalie's brother. It didn't take a genius to know why he was coughing. _Way to scream about your v-card, B,_ I chastised myself.

"Hey, Alice. I was … umm …" his voice sounded strained as he spoke to her. "I was just getting ready for the party."

His mumbled words made my thoughts run wild and thoughts of Edward in a wet t-shirt and swimwear rushed through my mind.

I waited until I could hear his footsteps fade away, sprinkled a little water on my face to cool off my blush and then walked out to face Alice.

Alice let out a whistle as she took in my appearance. "Damn, Bell! If I didn't have Jasper, I'd so try to get into your pants," she said goofily.

Rolling my eyes at her, I made my way to the Cullen's backyard pool to join the party.

Five minutes in, Alice leaned into my side and whispered, "He hasn't been able to take his eyes off you."

"Who?" I asked as I turned around to follow her gaze and then, I lost my breath.

If I thought that Edward would look hot in a wet t-shirt and swimwear, Edward wearing just a pair of swim trunks was downright sinful. Then my eyes fell on the slight smattering of hair that started from beneath his navel and went all the way into … his trunks.

 _Shit!_

I tried to turn back to avoid getting caught, but failed … miserably. Before I could avert my eyes from his abs or that trail of hair, he caught my eyes. A smile spread on his face as he started making his way to us.

I had just enough presence of mind to close my mouth before he walked right up to us. "Hey," he greeted. "We're setting up to play water polo. You guys wanna join?" he asked casually.

"I was actually looking forward to reading a new book …"

Of course, Alice being the traitor she is piped up, "Sure."

"Bella?" he asked, looking at me in all his hot-boy glory. Closing my eyes, I shook my head.

"No, thanks."

He gave me a long look before going back into the pool.

And I?

I spent the next hour watching his every move. Every so often his eyes would find mine, and I finally confessed to myself that staying away from him felt like torture.

Good thing I was a masochist.

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 **~*~*~*Of Heaven and Hell*~*~*~**

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"I know I've said that I'd like to try him out before, but after seeing him with my cousin, I've decided to back off," Jessica said as she walked behind me at school. "I mean seriously, Lauren, you'd have to be blind to not see the chemistry between them," she was saying to one of her cronies, Lauren Mallory. "Tan had simply kissed him and he _blushed_! Tell me that's not a sign of love."

I tried to tune her out but before I could do so, Lauren spoke up, making me feel like my heart had been shattered in a million pieces. "Edward Cullen blushed after a kiss from your cousin? Wow! That must've been one hell of a kiss!"

 _Edward? They're talking about_ Edward _?_

If I had thought that staying away from Edward hurt like hell before now, I was wrong. He had kissed a girl and blushed afterward. That thought hurt a lot more than ignoring the feelings that had been running through my heart lately.

Suddenly it felt like the walls of the school hallway were crushing in on me, suffocating me. _He had kissed someone …_ _who wasn'_ _t me_ ; the thought felt like a punch to the gut.

I didn't know why I was reacting like this though. He wasn't mine. I didn't have a claim on him.

His words from that day in the closet came back to haunt me. _It_ _'_ _s just a kiss_.

With me, it was _just_ a kiss for him, but now, with Jessica's cousin, it made him blush. _She_ _'_ _s important to him_ , I realized. _I_ _'_ _m not._ With that realization came another more profound one. I realized that my feelings about Edward weren't a simple case of a teenage crush; no, I had actually fallen in love … with him.

 _I_ _'_ _m screwed._

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 **A Week Later**

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I stopped at the entrance of the cafeteria as my eyes locked on the girl laughing with him. She was tall, blonde and absolutely stunning—Tanya Denali. It really shouldn't have surprised me that she'd pick the hottest guy in school. Guys like Edward Cullen didn't belong with someone nondescript like me.

I saw Edward smile at something she had said and that felt like the last nail in the coffin where my broken heart lied. He tipped his head back as he laughed and that's when his eyes fell on me. I didn't wait to see his expression change though. I didn't want to see pity in his eyes for me. So like a bat out of my personal hell, I ran.

"Bella! Wait." The sound of his voice calling my name was my first clue as to his pursuit of me. I didn't respond. I didn't slow down because I didn't want him to see the tears rolling down my cheeks at the thought of him with her.

Urging myself to run faster, I pushed on. I thought that I had lost him when I felt a hand wrap around my wrist, pulling me to a stop. "Will you slow down already?" he said as he made me face him.

I tried, really tried to stop the tears from falling; but as I felt the hot tear tracks roll down my cheeks, I knew it was futile. Unable to meet his eyes, I closed my eyes.

"Bella?" his voice sounded hesitant as he called my name. His hand let go of mine and slowly made its way up to my face. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Has someone said something to you?"

His questions made something snap inside me and instead of running away like I had fully intended to do, I found myself facing him, confronting him. "Nothing's wrong, not according to you at least," I said scathingly.

"What's that supposed to mean? What did I do?" he seemed to be getting angry, and I felt victorious for making _him_ feel something for a change.

"Nothing. You didn't do anything," I answered, trying to burn a hole through his batman t-shirt with my angry glare. "That's the problem, Edward. You never did _anything_. Everything has always been normal for you, hasn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, frowning now.

"I'm talking about us … me and you … we … fuck!" I cried out in frustration, not knowing if I could even label us as an _us_. "You lied to me … that day when we were playing seven minutes in heaven, you lied to me."

His eyes bugged out as soon as the words left my mouth. "Lied to you? Bella, why would I lie to you?"

I brushed away the tears of anger and dejection falling from my eyes and said, "You promised that it would be just a kiss. It was supposed to mean nothing. But you lied. It meant something. To me, at least."

As if my words had magical powers, his eyes softened as a smile broke into his face. "Really?"

"Yes, really," I replied. "But clearly, you were looking for bigger fish … or should I say, _taller_ fish?" I saw his eyebrows pull up in confusion and explained myself. "I heard Jessica talk about how you are perfect for Tanya … how you blushed when she kissed you. It wasn't _just_ a kiss when it came to her, was it?"

The corners of his lips turned upward as he shook his head. "No, it wasn't," he answered at last. "It was a kiss of thanks. She was thanking me for helping her with …"

I held up a hand to shut him up. "Please don't. I really don't know what came over me," I said, starting to back away from him, not wanting his words to tear at my heart anymore. "I'm sorry."

As I turned to go away, I felt his arm wrap around my torso and turn me back to face him. His usually clear green eyes looked determined as he kept his hold firm. He used his other hand to tip my face back a little to make me look into his eyes. "Why are you always running away from me?"

"I wasn't running away …"

"Yes, you were," he countered my response and holding my arms, shook me a little as if trying to shake some sense into me. "You accuse me of lying to you, you tell me that that kiss meant something to you and now you don't want to give me a chance to explain myself? What kind of justice is that, Bella?"

I opened my mouth but he pressed a finger to my lips, telling me to shut the fuck up with his eyes. Then he continued. "You said that I didn't care about the kiss? Well, how about all those mixed signals you gave me in the last few weeks, huh? Do you have any idea how difficult it has been for me to see you prancing around the house in the fucking short skirts you wear and not reach out to touch you? Do you know how much I had wanted to grab you and kiss you silly when you emerged from the bathroom with that tiny bikini clinging to you? It's been like hell, Bella. I've burned in this hell since the day you gave me a high five for picking out the batman t-shirt instead of the sensible shirt Rose was pushing me to get when we were growing up."

Silence. Complete and utter silence was what followed his declaration. All I could do was blink back the tears threatening to fall once again. He raised his hands and took my face in them, brushing away the few teardrops still clinging to my cheekbones.

"I've had a crush on you since before I could understand what a crush exactly is, Bella," he said softly. "But I loved you from the moment I kissed you in that crammed space of the closet. It's you who I want … who I want to love."

Because I was a persistent bitch, I blurted out, "But what about Tanya?"

He shrugged. "She's a friend who kissed me on the cheek to thank me for picking out the perfect gift for her valentine this year … some girl called Lauren Mallory."

Startled giggles burst from my mouth at this revelation. Then we were both laughing at how our minds could trick us into believing something that wasn't even there.

When I could breathe again I said, "I'm sorry for the mixed signals. I just didn't want to admit to myself that I had fallen for you."

Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Fallen for me?"

I nodded. "Very much so. After all, you know the real value of having batman t-shirts!"

His answering laughter was something I wanted to hear for the foreseeable future … maybe even after that.

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 **~*~*~*Of Heaven and Hell*~*~*~**

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 **Eight Years Later**

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"You may now kiss your bride." As soon as the words left the Officiant's mouth, the two figures standing before us all attacked each other, kissing like there was no tomorrow.

I tried to avert my eyes from their blatant display of affection, but the happiness radiating from the newly married couple drew me back in.

They finally broke the kiss, standing arm in arm and looking at me with pointed stares. And that's when I remembered my cue. With a wide smile threatening to split my face in two, I stepped forward and faced the guests in attendance. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to present to you for the first time ever—Tanya and Lauren Denali-Mallory."

I watched with pride as my two friends kissed again before smiling at the cheering crowd.

"They both look pretty," a voice whispered in my ear.

"They do," I answered with a smile.

"But nothing compared to you. You look fucking delectable, Mrs. Cullen. And I can't wait to get you home so that I can worship every square inch of your body."

His words, coupled with the feeling of his lips barely brushing the nape of my neck made my whole body tingle with anticipation. "Edward …" I whispered his name before tilting my head to the side to look at my husband's handsome face. "I have something for you." Making sure that the wedding party was starting to disperse to follow the brides to their wedding reception, I held out the small box I had been carrying with me all day.

He looked confused as he took the box and opened it. Lifting the tiny batman t-shirt nestled inside the box, he blinked and then realization lit up his eyes.

Without another word, he pulled me to his chest and asked in a quiet voice, "Really?"

I nodded and then smiled as he kissed my lips. "A perfect mixture of us," I said.

The way his eyes twinkled with happiness, pride and love made me feel like I was in heaven … my personal heaven … right in his arms.

 **~*~*~*The End*~*~*~**

 **A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this little contribution of mine. Share your thoughts with me and leave a review, please?**

 **By some crazy stroke of luck, my little drabble present for Granma Dee, Promise Me Forever, has been nominated for TwiFanfictionRecs' top ten completed fics of November 2015. Vote for your favorite fic in the link below:**

 **twifanfictionrecs category / top-ten-fics / top-ten-completed-fics-nov-2015 / (Remove the spaces before you hit enter)**

 **Oh and the lovely ladies at the ADifferentForest interviewed me for the Author Spotlight on their website. Here's the link if you want to read my crazy ramblings. ;)**

 **www . adifferentforest Campfires / 36934 (Remove spaces before you hit enter)**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Take care.**

 **Ann**


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